Mukesh Ambani vs Elon Musk? Indian billionaire 'resists' Starlink launch in India
Mukesh Ambani vs Elon Musk: Elon Musk is keen to extend his Starlink satellite broadband to India, but the world's richest man is up against Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man who runs Indian telecom giant Reliance Jio.
Following a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States on Tuesday, Musk stated that Starlink "can be incredibly helpful" in distant regions that lack internet or high-speed services.
What he didn't say is that Starlink is at odds with Ambani's Reliance on the government's distribution of satellite broadband spectrum, setting up a battle between two of the world's richest men for satellite services in the world's most populated country.
Starlink is pressing India to not auction the spectrum but instead assign licences in accordance with a global trend, claiming that it is a natural resource that companies should share, reported Reuters. According to firm letters made public by the Indian government this month, an auction could impose geographical constraints that enhance expenses.
Reliance, on the other hand, disagrees and has advocated for an auction in a public submission to the government, claiming that foreign satellite service providers could offer voice and data services and compete with existing telecom firms, and thus an auction is required to establish a level playing field.
In a hint of escalating rivalry, an industry source with direct information stated that Reliance will continue to press the Indian government to auction satellite spectrum rather than comply with foreign companies' demands.
According to India's Koan Advisory, 48 of the 64 responses from firms, industry groups, and others to India's public consultation on satellite spectrum preferred licencing, 12 voted for an auction, and the remainder were neutral.
According to a second industry source, Reliance worries that opening the floodgates to established foreign competitors like Starlink without an auction will allow them "runaway success" like Amazon, hurting Indian firms and creating an uneven playing field.
- With inputs from agencies
